SUP History
Stand Up Paddle(SUP) Boarding has no direct history line of how and who started it. We can assume that the love of a surfer who went out to surf knew Yoga and that person was doing it often enough that it caught some attention and the rest is as they say, history. It was noted that the boards that were used were much heavier, longer and thicker(10 to 12-foot) as they were used as a way of transportation. Nowadays, the boards are more aerodynamic suiting the current developments of science and technology. It's also been mentioned that the birth year of SUP is around 1940s. Moving forward into the current time, SUP Yoga has changed from something of a layman to something of leisure and fitness based workouts for both Yoga affecionate and people looking for something new and fun or just to have someway of channeling the calm in them. There are even short sprint races on lakes using SUP boards to the extreme crossing of the ocean with waves that would be for the gods!
SUP Yoga
Photo courtesy of Surfertoday.com
SUP Yoga is done in a very calm pool of water, in lakes, rivers, seas and swimming pools. The history again is not quite clear but one thing for sure is that it has Yoga in it which means someone decided to bring their surfboard out to do yoga in the middle of all the calmness of the water. SUP Yoga has seen a great spike of interest due to how the fitness industry is propelling it for it's health benefits and therapeutic effects on the mind and body. Yoga itself is a land based activity, promising tranquility to the mind , body and soul. Yoga practised on SUP board adds many dimensions of challenges along with focus and higher sense of kinesthetic awareness(awareness of the joint positions). Practicing SUP Yoga can be done by anyone however needs caution to water hazards such as drowning if you don't know how to swim and are out in deep waters. Starting SUP Yoga can be easy with someone experienced or trained rigorously. The sessions should always start with one getting acquainted with the board and "body sense awareness" before starting to move into the poses as every moment that passes by is different, moment to moment.
During a SUP Yoga class, you can expect to do common alignments such as Downward Facing Dog, Warrior, Chaturanga, Cobra, Upward Facing Dog, which are some of the movements done during the Sun Salutation as a basic movement for Yoga incorporated SUP sessions. If you are doing poses such as the Tree pose, Dancer pose, Triangle pose then you're well into an advanced class we presume! As always, check before you enrol in a class, if its for beginners, intermediate or advanced yogis!
SUP Yoga class is usually practised with Hatha Yoga(where you hold a pose for a short pause) or Vinyasa Flow(slightly faster paced).
During a SUP Yoga class, you can expect to do common alignments such as Downward Facing Dog, Warrior, Chaturanga, Cobra, Upward Facing Dog, which are some of the movements done during the Sun Salutation as a basic movement for Yoga incorporated SUP sessions. If you are doing poses such as the Tree pose, Dancer pose, Triangle pose then you're well into an advanced class we presume! As always, check before you enrol in a class, if its for beginners, intermediate or advanced yogis!
SUP Yoga class is usually practised with Hatha Yoga(where you hold a pose for a short pause) or Vinyasa Flow(slightly faster paced).
Types of Stand Up Paddle Boards
Inflatable boards from Jobe
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Inflatable Paddle Boards:
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Kahuna Epoxy Board
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Hard Paddle Boards:
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Water Yoga Boards
Water Yoga Boards
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Inflatable Water Yoga Boards:
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Benefits to SUP Yoga
Present
Practising Yoga on a SUP board gives you little chance to have your mind wandering bout the foods you're about to have after the sessions or how much calories you've burnt. When you do, you find yourself off balance and the next thing you know, you're in water.
Practising Yoga on a SUP board gives you little chance to have your mind wandering bout the foods you're about to have after the sessions or how much calories you've burnt. When you do, you find yourself off balance and the next thing you know, you're in water.
Speed
Moving too fast just get you more time spent in the water than practising the poses on the board. You will realise that you need to slow the movements down, concentrate on the posture, positions of your joints for optimal alignments and where relatively you are on the board.
Moving too fast just get you more time spent in the water than practising the poses on the board. You will realise that you need to slow the movements down, concentrate on the posture, positions of your joints for optimal alignments and where relatively you are on the board.
Mindfulness / Awareness
How you move will reflect towards the rest of the environment or participants around you. Once you start creating a small ripple or waves of ripples, the calmness will be disturbed and if you're around other people that's practising with you, they get disturb by the added instability created by you and in turn will create ripples of waves for the next person and so on. SUP Yoga is amazingly great at showcasing this concept of how small things can affect the bigger things in life.
How you move will reflect towards the rest of the environment or participants around you. Once you start creating a small ripple or waves of ripples, the calmness will be disturbed and if you're around other people that's practising with you, they get disturb by the added instability created by you and in turn will create ripples of waves for the next person and so on. SUP Yoga is amazingly great at showcasing this concept of how small things can affect the bigger things in life.
Carry over
No two SUP Yoga sessions are identical and in this, you engage deep stabiliser muscles and increase proprioception. Regardless if you are advanced in your yoga practice, an athlete that needs dynamic stabilising, a surfer or even for daily activities, you can see the high carry over of training on unstable surfaces under a trained professional.
No two SUP Yoga sessions are identical and in this, you engage deep stabiliser muscles and increase proprioception. Regardless if you are advanced in your yoga practice, an athlete that needs dynamic stabilising, a surfer or even for daily activities, you can see the high carry over of training on unstable surfaces under a trained professional.
Advanced Practitioners
Again, for those who are well into their advanced practice, you can use SUP Yoga to increase a higher sense of awareness to your own body, mindfulness, speed, stability and hyper focus you way through the session, walking away realising that you still can work the mind and body to a new aspect thats not been exposed to.
Again, for those who are well into their advanced practice, you can use SUP Yoga to increase a higher sense of awareness to your own body, mindfulness, speed, stability and hyper focus you way through the session, walking away realising that you still can work the mind and body to a new aspect thats not been exposed to.
Beginners
Most of us before experiencing a SUP Yoga session, will say this "i can't even balance myself on land, let alone on a board in water!". That is true to the word! Standing on the board itself will increase your awareness of your own body and mind and lets you be able to "experience yourself" through this simple process of just standing on the board, as we say, experience to learn.
Most of us before experiencing a SUP Yoga session, will say this "i can't even balance myself on land, let alone on a board in water!". That is true to the word! Standing on the board itself will increase your awareness of your own body and mind and lets you be able to "experience yourself" through this simple process of just standing on the board, as we say, experience to learn.
More than you expect
While you try and stabilise through a movements in water(on the SUP Board), moving around with all senses engaged and heightened up, you use up more energy than you realise!
While you try and stabilise through a movements in water(on the SUP Board), moving around with all senses engaged and heightened up, you use up more energy than you realise!
Outdoor | Indoor
Whatever your preference is, you can always have the pleasure to choose what you want to appreciate for that session. Some days you feel like a paddle out and having to appreciate the beauty the outdoors has to offer, some days you feel like you want to be indoor where the sun don't burn you etc(whatever your reasons are). Somedays we just feel like doing something different!
Whatever your preference is, you can always have the pleasure to choose what you want to appreciate for that session. Some days you feel like a paddle out and having to appreciate the beauty the outdoors has to offer, some days you feel like you want to be indoor where the sun don't burn you etc(whatever your reasons are). Somedays we just feel like doing something different!
Versatility
Whichever boards you ultimately choose, these boards are made for its versatility to do a fitness based class or personal and group yoga practise and durability. It's fun and adds dimension to your current workouts or something to start enjoying. Out dorr or indoor, you can make the session now! See you onboard somewhere soon!
Whichever boards you ultimately choose, these boards are made for its versatility to do a fitness based class or personal and group yoga practise and durability. It's fun and adds dimension to your current workouts or something to start enjoying. Out dorr or indoor, you can make the session now! See you onboard somewhere soon!
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Some of the names they go by that offer the same concept/idea of classes:
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